Graduation

This past weekend I graduated from the

Columbus College of Art and Design with my Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts-Illustration. As you can tell by this picture, the weather was absolutely beautiful much to my own amazement given how it rained every day the previous week, and the rain has been coming down heavily since Sunday, so we had one good day for graduation. Thank God for small miracles.

While seeing the sun was quite a surprise, I was particularly surprised when I saw that the compilation book for Comic Book Illustration class had my artwork on the (back) cover. Several of my sketches and my "Pete Peril" story were reprinted, and it looks good reprinted.

I'll be staying in the area while I work on padding out my portfolio and work on sending out promotional material to various groups and companies in hopes of finding a job. There are some potential freelance opportunities on the horizon, so I'm optimistic. Subscribe for updates!

Daylight in the Moonlight

Some of my viewers will remember my earlier piece "Little Daylight". While it was an impressive accomplishment for me in terms of scale, it was a very busy composition. Thankfully I was able to find the time to lay down some cool tones to create the nighttime feel and it makes for a considerable improvement.

I also want to say thanks to my friend Kirsten for all manner of helpful advice when it came to choosing colors.

Dex Deadfall: Astronaut Archelogist!

A name courtesy of the Action Hero Name Generator, Dex is inspired by the great science fiction art of the past; Al Williamson , Wally Wood, and Frank Frazetta in particular.

Being the last project for the semester it feels a bit rushed in terms of composition and looks very busy. At least I had the opportunity to play with Photoshop colors alongside my traditional brush and ink.

Pete Peril

With the school year winding down I have a handful of projects to update. First is this two page original comic I've been working on for my Comic Book Illustration class. "Pete Peril" is inspired by the iconic opening to "Raiders of the Lost Ark", involving looking for lost treasure inside a ruinous cave. Like most of my work there is a noticeable chiaroscuro style.

In order to brush up on my visual storytelling skills I looked for inspiration in Hal Foster's old "Tarzan" comic strips (Thanks Golden Age Comic Book Stories!)Pete himself is an ace pilot and his appearance is based on various characters from Milton Caniff's "Terry and the Pirates". Wealthy heiress and old flame Ann Weatherbee follows Pete on this quest for a mystic gem.